New Talent at V2 | Affaire | Off-beat electronic rock for fans of Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem and Soulwax
Pounding drum machines, a battery of synths, convulsive vocals, and driving guitar merge into a hybrid of writhing energy and overheated nervousness: these are the ingredients with which Michiel Ritzen and Nick Caers, together known as Affaire, serve their off-beat electronic rock.
Early next year, the EP Internal Swing will be released, featuring six tracks. Most of the songs were recorded by Ritzen and Caers themselves in their home studio and at Het Depot in Leuven during a residency. For the final touches, they worked closely with Rob Driessen from De Muziekgieterij in Maastricht, where Affaire is Artist in Residence.
"Through De Muziekgieterij, we got in contact with V2 Records, and it's through them that we're releasing Internal Swing on February 7th. Honestly, we find it super flattering to be able to release our music through a label; it's the first time for us so it's quite exciting. For our bookings, we're now working with Björn from Busker, and we feel super ready to bring the EP live to various venues and festivals this coming spring."
The two gentlemen met during their teenage years as drummers. After many jam sessions, Caers delved into higher studies of the same instrument, while Ritzen, during his psychology studies, started experimenting with bass, guitar, and vocals. After playing in various bands and formations for several years, the two friends found themselves post-COVID in the black hole of drum machines, synthesizers, and effects pedals. Although Nick and Michiel have spent most of their lives behind the drums, they temporarily swapped their kits for this project to imagine themselves as scientists behind the controls. With Affaire, they deliver a sound at the crossroads of what Suicide did in the '80s, the angularity of Talking Heads, and the adventurous spirit of LCD Soundsystem and Soulwax, while still carving their own path.
Live, the contrast between the two protagonists crackles: Caers, like a professor, intensely focused on controlling the synths and drum machines, steering them and often letting them spiral out of control, while Ritzen, with his rhythmic guitar playing and charismatic vocals, bounces hyperactively across the stage. Tension and fun are the common thread, which also returns in the name Affaire: a reflection of Ritzen's belief that, given his background, music should and can only be a side affair. A forbidden desire yearning for release.
